


A Little Mix

by Arctimon



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Big Hero 6: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 15:09:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20894099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arctimon/pseuds/Arctimon
Summary: Awkward conversations! Nighttime confessions! Pool hustling! Fizzy drinks! And everything in between! Before Karmi heads off overseas, the gang (and friends) come together to give her a night she'll never forget. Multiple pairings, multiple cameos, but most importantly Hiro/Karmi. Takes place after City of Monsters, Pt. 2. Come in, grab a table, and enjoy this novel of a one-shot!





	A Little Mix

_**Disclaimer: **Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. Pierre's is owned by some brand that I'm too lazy to think of a name for. The large amount of cameos in this one-shot are owned by their respective companies/brands._

_How many are there? Let's find out._

* * *

_ **A Little Mix** _

"I can't wait for my fizzy drink to show up!"

"Let the record show that I'm against giving this girl any kind of caffeine."

"Go Go, let her be. She's never been here before."

"How come I have a feeling it's going to be like this all night?"

A marine biologist, a mechanical engineer, a chemist, and a biotech major walk into a bar.

...That's not the beginning of a joke. That's the scene.

After the aftermath of everything that happened with Sycorax (Hiro getting kidnapped by a transformed Karmi, the city being overrun by mutated villains, the revelation of Liv Amara's clone being behind the entire scheme), all the team wanted to do was sit back and get things back to normal.

As soon as the dust had started to settle, Hiro had learned that Karmi's parents had taken her out of SFIT, fearing that the city had become too dangerous for her to stay in. Even worse was that she was going to take a trip to visit her extended family all the way overseas. The result was that Karmi wouldn't be around for a long time.

The exact amount of time was unknown, and something that Hiro wasn't in the mood to think about.

But being the genius he was, he could make things happen in a hurry. So, he made some calls, pleaded some cases, and sent Go Go to get Karmi so that she could enjoy one last night out at Pierre's before she left.

The reason why he sent Go Go? Because Wasabi didn't have the spine to stand up to Karmi's parents.

The rest of the group had looked down identically at their phones to see the text message that was sent by her after she had arrived:

_The package has been picked up. Karmi's parents might not like me very much right now._

Hiro's response? _Why's that?_

_Never you mind. Just be glad you'll get to see your girl tonight at all._

The boy genius never responded, presumably because he was busy splashing some cold water on his face.

"What _did_ she say to your parents, Karmi?" Honey Lemon asked.

"Not a lot," Karmi replied as she drummed her fingers on the table. "Just that I deserve to go out with my friends and if they didn't let me go, she'd be taking me anyway. At least she promised to have me back by midnight."

"Go Go! You can't threaten her parents like that..."

The Korean glanced at the fourth member of the group, already guessing the next part of her sentence.

"Without me being there! I could've done some party tricks as a distraction!"

Part of the setup for the night was getting everyone in the gang together, which was also part of the reason why the girls had gotten to Pierre's first. Robbie was all for spending some time with them, but he had a longer commute than most. So the guys decided to wait for him at Go Go's apartment while the rest went to the bowling alley to get everything set up. Not knowing when they would get there, the girls went over to the bar area to relax, where they decided to partake in some (non-alcoholic) beverages.

Paid for by a certain water-controlling, half-human ball of energy.

"Aspen, your idea of party tricks is a lot different than ours."

"Sorry! I've been running around for so long that I can't control myself! As soon as Wasabi texted me about Karmi, I skedaddled over here as fast as possible. I did it all for you, Karmi."

"And I appreciate that, Aspen," Karmi said. "You didn't have to come back just for me."

"Are you kidding?" Aspen shot out of her stool and latched onto Karmi's arm. "I would've swam back here if I didn't have a sub."

"And it would've taken you significantly less time to do that than a normal human being," Go Go joked.

The bartender showed up at that moment, thankfully saving Karmi from her arms permanently having hand indentations in them. "Your drinks, ladies. I got the iced coffee with whipped cream for you..."

He set the mason jar down in front of Go Go, who gave him her thumbs-up of approval.

"I'm going to guess the virgin hot toddy with juniper and ginger is yours?"

"Yup," Honey Lemon said, the glass now in her hands.

"And you two have the cucumber seltzer and mint soda." He gave the thin glasses to Aspen and Karmi respectively. "Let me know if you guys need anything else."

"Wow, that was quick. Thanks, Speedy."

As the bartender walked off, Karmi leaned toward Honey Lemon. "Speedy?"

The Latina pointed back to the bar, where the blonde-haired guy was already back talking to some other customers. "One of the customers on my online store mentioned that her boyfriend started working here. She put in a good word for me so that we could get a priority spot. She seemed _really _excited too, since the e-mail she sent me was super long."

"His name's not really Speedy, right?"

"He does like to do things really quickly, but you know...I never asked."

Karmi let it go. The last thing she needed was something else to think about, although she could think of a few people who sent out novels for e-mails. Instead, she turned back toward Aspen, who was happily sipping her seltzer. "So...what have you been up to since you left, Aspen? I haven't heard much from you."

"Oh, you know."

"I...I don't."

"I am so glad you asked, then!" She set her glass down and waved her hands above her head. "It's flashback time!"

"_Please_ don't pull a Fred," Go Go sighed. "I get enough of that without you here."

"Too late! I already said it! Flashback time!"

* * *

_Some time ago..._

"Listen, kid..."

Aspen sat on the other side of the desk, across from the detective. Numerous other officers were walking past them, busy with their own problems. The woman in front of her tapped the papers on her desk, looking increasingly more exasperated.

"I feel for you. But in case you haven't noticed, we're not on the West Coast." She waved her hand behind her to the crowds and traffic out the window. "You're in Neo York. And things are a little more hectic over here."

"Have you read the file I gave you, Detective Pezzini?" Aspen asked.

"I did. And you got a very sparse story here." The detective held up the file for emphasis. "I'm a homicide detective, kid. I don't work with Missing Persons or the Cold Case unit. I deal with facts...and you don't really have a lot of them. I don't know if it's just because you don't want to tell me them or what, but it's kind of hard to do my job with so little information."

"But-"

The young woman held up her hand, cutting Aspen off. "Look. I don't know what made you come across the country to ask for me by name. I haven't been in San Fransokyo since I graduated from the academy, and that was almost six years ago. It's a little out of my jurisdiction. I'm flattered that you thought of me..."

She pushed the folder back over to Aspen.

"But I don't think I'm the person for you. I'm sorry."

Aspen slowly took the papers back, looking down at the floor. It was not an unexpected outcome; she was told that the conversation to go this way, but thankfully she was given permission by a certain someone to namedrop if necessary.

"It's just..."

"Hm?"

Aspen looked back up, trying to put on a sad face. "You came highly recommended. She said you were one of the best cadets she came across in her short time there. Great attention to detail. And you have connections that may be useful for this sort of...unique situation."

The detective leaned back, her arms now on the back of the chair. "Oh yeah? And who's this 'she' that said all that?"

"...Professor Granville."

The mood change was almost immediate; her eyes widened and her back stiffened at the mention of the name. "Wait? _Grace_ Granville?"

"Yes."

Aspen watched as the detective started to shake her head, her long brown ponytail bouncing erratically. He heard her mutter something along the lines of "That woman..." She took note of her bracelet, silver in color and a dark red gem seemingly glowing on her right wrist. It was almost like it was reacting to her statement as well.

All of a sudden, she stood up and grabbed the coat off of the chair. "C'mon, kid. We're going on a trip."

"Wait, what?"

She got up from her desk as the detective walked over to a nearby door, knocking on it and cracking it open. "Boss! I'm gonna be gone for a few days!"

"What?" the gruff voice from beyond the door replied. "You can't take off, Pezzini! You got cases backed up!"

"Umm...I'm working on one of them. Involves some travel. But I'll be back! Just get that new girl to cover for me! Underwood or whatever. _Gottagobye!_" She shut the door and waved Aspen to the main entrance. "Let's get out of here, kid, before he figures out what happened."

The two stepped out into the streets and started walking toward the piers. Aspen looked up at the detective, who was pulling her coat closer to her body. "Does this mean you're going to help me?"

"Yeah." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "But we're going to need to cross the ocean. One of my so called 'connections' is over there. She should be able to help us out."

"Thank you, Detective."

"OK, two things." She held up the fingers for her to see. "One, if we're gonna be traveling together, we go on a first name basis. It's Sara, not Detective."

"Fair enough."

"And two..."

She pointed to the nearest dock, where Aspen's submarine was lazily floating around the multitude of boats. Two cops were already standing in front of it, scratching their heads in confusion.

"...Yeah, you can't park that thing there."

* * *

_One transatlantic flight later…_

Aspen and Sara went down the long driveway, the detective at the wheel. Aspen looked out the window to see the gigantic house they were driving to. She also saw two guest houses next to it, each one big enough to probably fit a family of five comfortably.

Sara pulled up to the front stairs and put the car into park. "Still can't get used to driving on the opposite side. Last time I was over here, I almost caused an accident on King's Road. Stupid little Mini-Cooper."

Aspen got out and craned her neck up. The house was almost blocking out the sun because of its size. Each of the columns in the front were several feet high and cleaned to perfection. As they walked up to the door, she noticed the ornate door knockers on each one, a lion's head holding the ring in their mouth.

"Yeah, don't bother with that. She's got a doorbell now. Good thing, too; I told her to get it years ago." The detective put her finger on the button, the ring carrying throughout the giant house.

"I'm sorry; I don't think I asked this. _How_ do you know this woman again?" Aspen asked.

Sara stepped back and brushed some dust off of her jacket. "I don't mean to brag, but we're...sort of best friends."

"Sort of?"

"It's a long story."

"I like long stories."

The detective smirked. "Yeah, I can tell by the way you yakked my ear off on the flight over here."

The door opened, and an elderly man was on the other side, the white hair thin on his head. As soon as he saw Sara, he smiled. "Ahh, Ms. Pezzini. How lovely to see you again."

"Winston!" The two walked in, Sara sharing a quick hug with the butler. "I would love to sit and chat, but I'm kind of in a time crunch here. Is she around?"

"I believe she is currently in her study. She just got back from one of her expeditions in Peru. Right this way."

Aspen followed the two inside. Much like Fred's mansion (which she was lucky enough to walk through before she left San Fransokyo), there was a new sight to see every way she looked. Immediately as they walked in was a common area, two fireplaces surrounded by very old leather chairs and wooden tables. The old chandelier hanging above them was adorned with hundreds of tiny crystals, the sunbeam hitting it just right. The stonework on the columns and banisters was second to none. It was like the house was something out of the past.

"I keep telling her that she needs to get some more tech in here. Like an elevator or something," Sara whispered. "Wants to live in the Middle Ages for some reason." She pointed up to a couple of rings located above. "Her grappling hook rings don't help either."

They arrived at one of the far doors on the ground level, which Winston opened for them. Inside was a circular room with shelves filled to the brim with books of every size and shape. In the center was a very ornate wooden desk, the lamp on and papers and volumes strewn all about it. The chair behind it was occupied by a woman, her round glasses on the edge of her nose as she was silently reading whatever tome was in front of her.

"You have visitors, Ms. Croft."

Croft? Why did that name sound so familiar?

The woman looked up at the guests and smiled. The book was shut with a cloud of dust shooting up, and she stood to walk around the table. She was wearing a long pair of brown cargo pants and a turquoise short-sleeved shirt, the light color complimenting her tanned skin and long brownish-red hair.

"Sara!" She grabbed the detective and pulled her into a hug, the whip that was her ponytail almost hitting Aspen in the head. "How are you, darling? Been a while since you've been over on my side of the pond."

The accent definitely was familiar now. The medication that she had been given to help with her memory seemed like it was working a little bit.

The detective took a deep breath in and recoiled. "Oh man. You smell like you've been in the jungle for a week!"

"Two weeks, actually," the woman replied. "I came back with a bunch of good bobbles and trinkets. You want to take a look?"

"If it involved things coming back from the dead or demons or whatever, I don't want any part of it."

"Oh, you're no fun."

Aspen stared at the two, and the woman took notice of her for the first time. "Ahh, I see you brought someone with you. How crass of me. I haven't properly introduced myself. "I'm-"

"You're Lara Croft."

Her repaired memory was saving her again as she took her hand, still in a daze. "You're the daughter of Lord Richard Croft, founder of Croft Enterprises. It's one of the biggest tech companies in all of Europe. I remember seeing you a long time ago at one of Fathom's projects off the coast of England."

Lara was now very interested in what she was saying.

"I remember seeing a lot of your books around and just recently started reading them. Archeology and traveling around the world, finding artifacts that were thought lost to the world. You're a legend."

"Your flattery is humbling, my dear girl," Lara said. "But I'm no legend. Merely someone just looking for the next great adventure." She looked down at Aspen's hair, examining it closely. "You said Fathom, right? You must be the captain's daughter. Aspen, was it? It's very lovely to meet you."

They shook hands briefly, and Lara started to walk back to the front of her desk. "How is the old man, anyway? Last I heard he was hovering around the Pacific Ocean trying to see if he can build another underwater base. Anything come up from that?"

Aspen glanced over at Sara. Getting the hint, she stepped forward with her phone in her hand. "You've missed a lot while you were away, Lara."

Confused, Lara took the phone from her and looked down. She started scrolling through the articles that Sara has brought up. With every story she looked at, her face grew more and more shocked.

"Bloody hell." She pushed her sunglasses onto her forehead and looked between the two of them. "Fathom's in the tank? I've clearly been out of the loop. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

Sara straightened up. "Fathom got caught up in a whole bunch of nasty stuff. The entire company went down and is in the process of getting liquidated."

"And the old man?"

Aspen turned away, the sting of what he had done still there. "My dad...he wasn't the person I thought he was."

A hand came down on her shoulder, and its owner squeezed it gently. "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. It must be rough to see something you've worked so hard for be taken in front of your eyes. Although if it's any consolation," she added as she made her way to the chair, "I never liked the old man. Always gave my father the stink-eye when they conducted company business. Dodgy, if you ask me."

"Well, your business is really the reason why we're here."

"Really? Well, in that case..." Lara sat down and beckoned the butler, who Aspen didn't even realize was still present. "Winston, bring us some refreshments, please."

A few minutes later, the women were chowing down on cucumber sandwiches ("I swear I can eat twenty of these," Sara quipped), and between bites, Aspen explained her plan to Lara.

"Recently, I've been made aware of certain...facts about myself. There was a project that Fathom worked on that I want to rework into something a little more personal. The problem is that I don't have any way to work on it, since it was decommissioned when the company went out of business." Aspen took a deep breath. "I'm in the process of trying to salvage what I can, but as you probably know, there are a million working parts to work out, and all of it takes time. So, I was wondering if Croft Enterprises would be able to offer their resources for this."

Lara looked up from her plate. "You could just come to work for me, you know. I could really use someone like you on our payroll."

"To be honest, ma'am..."

"Lara."

Aspen grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Lara. To be honest, I've had a lot of bad things happen to me over the past few weeks. I'm sort of hesitant to dive into another corporation. Plus, I want to keep it as...private as possible."

"I understand." The woman leaned back into her chair, her index fingers on her mouth. "Well, I would love to be able to help you, Ms. Matthews, but I'm afraid I'm in a little bit of a predicament myself when it comes to Croft Enterprises." Lara pointed over her shoulder to a giant wall portrait of who Aspen presumed was her parents. "After my father passed and my mother went missing, my uncle tried to take control of the company. Said that since my mother hasn't been confirmed to be deceased or still alive, I can't properly take my inheritance. It's all being battled out in the courts, which have been a royal pain in the butt."

"Lara, you live in a giant house. You have to have money coming from somewhere."

"I have my personal savings, this estate and a few bonds, Sara, but the majority of it hasn't been passed off to me. The museums _have_ paid me well for my excursions, but they can only go so far."

She put her elbows on the desk and looked at Aspen. "So, unfortunately, there's not really a lot I can do here. An undertaking like what you're describing would require a lot of resources from the company, and I'm not sure my _dear _uncle would go for it, given the level of secrecy you wish to keep it at. If you wish, I can give you his contact information and you might be able to set up a meeting with him. He may not like _me_, but he might listen to you."

"That would be great, thanks."

She glanced over at the detective, jotting something down on a spare piece of paper. "Not to be rude, darling, but how did you two come to meet each other? I wasn't aware that oceanography companies were really your thing."

"Lara..." Sara leaned onto the desk. "Grace sent her my way."

At the mention of the name, Lara's hand stopped in its tracks, the pen hovering right over the page. She stared right at Sara, her mouth slightly open. "Are you serious?"

"One hundred percent."

The archaeologist brushed a bang out of her face, still with a look of surprise. After a second, her mouth broke out into a wide grin.

"Well...this changes things, doesn't it?"

Aspen furrowed her brow as Lara got up from her desk and walked over to the wall of bookshelves on her left. "Wait. How do _you_ know Professor Granville?"

She didn't answer for a moment, instead running her finger down the spines of the books, clearly searching for something. Mumbling to herself, she stopped on an old blue book, leaning it out of the shelf by an inch.

"Grace Granville..."

Aspen's ears perked up.

"Grace Granville is a family friend, and who is someone that I have a great deal of respect for." Another book, this time yellow, was pulled out. "My father always spoke very highly of her, and after meeting her once, I could tell why."

A green book was next.

"I owe a tremendous debt to Grace, and perhaps me offering my resources to you will go a small way in repaying that debt to her."

The last book moved was a red novel, and the three heard a loud click ring through the library.

"Lara, why don't you just put those dang things in a safe or something?" Sara shook her head with mock amusement. "Doesn't it get tiring to solve a puzzle like that every time?"

She didn't respond as she turned to Aspen. "So, I've changed my mind, Ms. Matthews. I _will_ help you. But first...I require your assistance with something."

"Umm...OK. What exactly?"

A section of the bookshelf shifted upwards, and Aspen looked to see what was inside: two shiny, silver pistols, leather adorning both of their grips. All of the edges were rounded, and it looked like they were very high-tech, the sides glowing softly with energy.

"You take three years to get a doorbell, but you splurge on those things? I don't understand you at all."

"Tools of the trade, darling." Lara grabbed both of them out of the case, twirling them for show before slapping them into her holsters. Looking up at the two of them, she smirked.

"So, Sara...Aspen...are you ready to go on a little adventure?"

Aspen was so excited that she almost didn't hear the palm of Sara's hand slap her forehead from behind her. "Oh, I don't like the sound of this at _all_."

* * *

"...I think you've been telling this story longer than we've actually been sitting down here."

"Oh, did I go on too long? My bad." Aspen said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Don't worry about it," Go Go replied. "This woman just sounds like something straight out of Fred's comics."

"Oh, it was crazy! But we'll get back to that later!"

**...Yeah, we're totally not going to get back to that later.**

"Speaking of interesting characters, I'm so looking forward to meeting this Robbie guy!" Aspen said. "He sounds like the greatest person!"

"He's OK." The Korean took a sip of her iced coffee. "Definitely needs to keep a cooler head sometimes, but that what I'm there for. Reeling him in."

"Awww! That's adorable!" Aspen twirled her finger above her seltzer. "Are you guys dating?"

"...Define 'dating'."

"Aspen."

She looked up at Honey Lemon, who was looking down at her glass. She realized that she was absentmindedly stirring her drink...without touching it. "Whoops." She set her palm down flat on the table. "Forgot that I'm suppose to be 'incognito'."

Karmi smiled as she pushed her mint soda toward the marine biologist. "Can you stir _mine _for me?"

"Karmi, she's not suppose to be doing that. Not in public, anyway."

"Aww, you guys are no fun." Aspen looked around the table. "But I get it." She looked around Karmi's shoulder to glance at the doorway. "Any idea when the guys are going to get here?"

Go Go glanced at her phone. "In a bit. Robbie's almost there, and then they're all driving together."

"Promise me you'll keep your hands off of each other when they arrive."

"Oh, there's no chance that's-"

Her attention went back on Aspen, who was now twirling a tiny ring of water between her palms. "Aspen!"

She looked up, a dramatic toothy grin on her face.

"Aspen." Honey Lemon's smile was not as wide, but still there. "We'll stop by the pool on the way back to Wasabi's, OK?"

"Hooray!" She tossed the ball back into her glass.

"Now that _that's_ settled, is there anything else you want to know about us?" the Latina asked. "I just realized we know all of this stuff about you and we haven't really returned the favor."

"I do have a question." Aspen jutted her thumb out at her neighbor, sipping her soda through her straw. "What's the deal between Karmi and Hiro?"

Karmi's soda immediately came back up her throat, gagging loudly. She beat her chest a couple of times with her fist as she tried to regain her breath. "What!? What are you talking about?"

Aspen laughed from over her glass. "Karmi...I can tell there's something between the two of you. Back when you guys were at the base, and the way you two worked together to help me. You can't tell me there's nothing there."

The teen genius looked down at her napkin, avoiding her gaze. A bunch of things started swirling in her mind, from his late night conversation on the phone to her nuzzling up next to him in bed. "There's...Look. It's complicated."

"Wow." Go Go glanced over at Honey Lemon and matched her smirk, her coffee in her hand. "_We _only normally get a flat-out denial. It took the better part of a year to get to the 'It's complicated' phase."

"I wonder what if they had any pillow fights when she stayed at his house for a week," Honey Lemon added.

"_What!?_" Aspen was beside herself. "Karmi, when did this happen?"

Karmi looked at the other girls, her death glare activated. "I'm going to kill you two."

Aspen was back on her arm, tugging at it heavily. "Karmi 'If I knew your last name, I would say it', you _have _to tell me everything!"

Go Go broke her gaze from the two and looked over her friend's shoulder. "Um...Honey Lemon?"

She turned to see the bartender was behind her with a tray. "Oh, hey Speedy. What's up? Is Aspen being too loud? I'm sorry; she can get a little antsy sometimes."

"Nah, I have a present for you."

Honey Lemon watched as the blonde bartender put four bottles full of soda in front of them. "I'm...sorry, but there must be a mistake. We didn't order these."

"Oh, I know."

He pointed over to the pool tables at a small group of young guys leaning on them. There were four in total, three of them wearing military gear and the youngest sitting in a chair behind them. All four of them were wearing green berets on their heads. Seeing the bartender point over to them, the tallest one with the red hair gave a small wave over to them and winked.

"They did."

Karmi, now free of Aspen's grip again, looked shell-shocked at the development. All she could do is utter a flat "What?" as she stared at them.

"Awww!" Aspen squealed, seeing Karmi's blushing face. "You're getting hit on! Hiro's gonna get maaad!"

"If we want to be technical," Go Go said, "_We're_ probably getting hit on (gesturing to the three older people). The kid over there looks like he's collateral damage." She pulled out her key chain and popped open her soda. "Whatever. Free drink."

"You think we should go over there and say something?"

"That sounds like a terrible idea, Aspen. Why don't we just-"

Karmi looked up to see the girl's stool vacant. "_Aaaand_ she's already gone."

The other two turned to see her walking over to the pool tables. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to go say hi. It's the hospitable thing to do."

"And you're not going to try to pass them off to us, are you?" Go Go asked.

"...Nooo."

Honey Lemon noticed the empty bottle in front of Aspen's stool. No doubt she had already downed the soda and her seltzer, and was now on a caffeine high. "Aspen, I'm going to have to agree with Karmi on this one. We-"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she yelled. "I don't see your boyfriend around, HL!"

Karmi sighed. "Aspen, you don't have to set us up with anyone. And don't you _have_ Wasabi?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have a boyfriend. However..." The marine biologist gestured to the rest of the group. "_She _doesn't know the definition of 'dating' (pointing to Go Go), _she's_ not taken (pointing to Honey Lemon), and _you_...are kidding yourself."

The three watched Aspen walk off towards the other group, flabbergasted by her abrasiveness. Karmi wasn't sure what to make of it, although she could tell Go Go and Honey Lemon were a tiny bit used to it, having interacting with her more often. She saw Aspen start a conversation with the redhead, her smile not wavering.

"Is...is she always like this?"

"Sort of. Wasabi's usually better at keeping her tame, but since he's not here..." Go Go trailed off.

Karmi stared at the unopened soda in front of her. She was starting to get an idea in her head. An idea that would have been crazy months ago, but since it was her last night in San Fransokyo for a while, she would have nothing to lose.

"I'm going over there."

"Are you sure?" Honey Lemon asked as she got up from her seat.

"Why not?" Karmi motioned off to her companion, who was waving her arms around in an animated manner. "Looks like she's softening them for us, anyway. They can't take all of us at once."

"Says the girl who would be going up against a tiny child."

"Hey, I deal with Hiro on a regular basis. I can handle that kid."

Go Go smiled. "Oh, so you plan on going out to dinner with him without telling anyone as well too?"

The red on Karmi's cheeks let the Korean know she had succeeded in her objective. She got up as well, grabbing Honey Lemon's arm. "Come on. Let's go rescue those boys from Aspen."

The three made their way over to the pool tables, where Aspen was now starting to make the redhead guy's eyes start to roll in the back of his head. The dark-skinned man and brown-haired guy were laughing at their companion's predicament, and the young boy looked like he wanted to crawl away as the other girls approached.

"Is this what you imagined when you sent those drinks over?"

The main guy glanced over at the newcomers. "Just trying to be hospitable. Also, it was Guy's idea...and Kyle's."

He pointed to the boy in the chair. "He thinks you're pretty, by the way," he whispered to Karmi, whose cheeks got even redder.

"Uncle Hal!"

"Sorry. It's part of my constitutional duties as an uncle to embarrass you to no end."

"I think he's a little young to be dating."

"I agree," the man said. "But that's never stopped him before."

Go Go looked over at Aspen and the redhead. "We're here to rescue your friend from our friend."

"Oh, he's fine. I'm actually shocked that he hasn't keeled over by now; she's been talking his ear off ever since she came over." He pushed his hair back and set the pool cue on the table. "I'm Hal, by the way. That's John (he pointed to the other person at the table), the confused-looking person is Guy, and that's my nephew Kyle."

"You guys aren't from around here, are you?" Karmi asked.

"Nah, we're in town only for a little bit. Military travel and all that. But they gave us a little leave tonight so we can relax." He gestured to the general area. "Nice place you got here. Nice atmosphere and all that."

"We try."

Hal looked them over. "So...since I know Guy's going to ask, I might as well get to it before him. What's four lovely ladies like you doing in a place like this?"

Go Go decided to take the lead on this one. "We're waiting for the rest of our group to show up. Our...guys."

"Ahh. Gotcha." He smiled knowingly. "See, Kyle? This young lady's already taken." Seeing the boy in the chair shrink down even more, he laughed. "Don't worry, kid. John's niece will be here any second. You'll like her."

"Hey, guys!"

Aspen decided to make her reentry into the fold, leading the redhead back to the group. "Guy here want to challenge one of us for their undying affections and whatnot!"

"They're already spoken for, Guy."

"Nah, three of us are." Aspen pointed to Honey Lemon. "She's not."

"Great!" The redhead grabbed the pool cue out of John's hand and held it out to the Latina. "How about a game of pool, young maiden? Best of five? If I win, you get to hang out with yours truly for the rest of the night!"

Honey Lemon cocked her head. "Hmm...I don't know. What if I win?"

"If you win?" He thought for a moment, his grin breaking out. "If you win, I'll pay for your entire night."

"Aww, isn't that sweet of you?" Honey Lemon gingerly took the cue out of his hand. "OK, I'll do it."

Karmi was just about to interject when she saw Go Go's face start to contort into a look of pure evil. "Umm...you OK, Go Go?"

"Me? I'm fine." She turned on the spot, grabbing a couple of chairs from the nearest table. "Why don't we have a seat, ladies? I want a front-row view of this."

"Uh oh," Aspen said as she returned with the chairs by the wall. "You have a look on your face like something's about to happen."

"Oh, something _is_ about to happen." The Korean motioned for the two to sit down. "You know, Aspen, how sharks can smell blood in the water from a mile away?"

"That's a misconception. It's more like a fourth of a mile, and it takes time for the smell to run through the current to reach their-"

"Yeah yeah, don't ruin the joke. Anyway, I just kind of find it ironic that he would play against her of all people."

Go Go put a hand on both Karmi's and Aspen's shoulder, propping herself up as John finished racking up the balls. "Especially because no sane person would ever challenge Honey Lemon to a game of pool."

From the moment Honey Lemon broke the stack onward, the retribution was swift and painful. For every solid ball Guy sank, Honey Lemon would almost run the table with her stripes. Balls would careen off of four walls before going in. The look of concentration that was normally reserved for measuring chemicals served her well here. It was a sight to behold; Karmi didn't know the first thing when it came to pool, but when the last stripe went down, she definitely wanted to learn how to play. And she had a good idea as to who she wanted her teacher to be.

"You paid her off, didn't you?" Guy yelled. "You tricked me!"

John shook his head, his laughter barely contained. "Boy, I think you got played. Now face your defeat like the gentleman you think you are."

Sighing, the redhead turned to Honey Lemon. "Fine. I'll be the bigger man here. You won fair and square."

The Latina curtsied in response. "Thank you kindly. You put up a better fight than most people I play."

Karmi heard the snort from behind her, the irony not lost on her.

"Uncle John!"

The girls turned to see a young girl run up to John's legs. She had a large puff of black hair held back by a green headband with matching green shoes and a green dress. Like Karmi, she had black leggings on underneath. Unlike her, the wristband on her arm was a dark green.

"Keli!" John returned the hug. "Looks like you found the place OK."

"I did! The nice squirrel lady gave me directions!"

"The squirrel lady? Who's that?"

Karmi realized too late who the girl was referring to.

"_Karmi!_"

A set of arms wrapped around her neck, almost knocking her out of the chair. The brown sleeves of the aviator jacket offered a nice cushion to Karmi's inevitable death.

"You're lucky that Honey Lemon told me about this party! I was beginning to think you didn't want me to come."

Karmi finally freed herself and turned around to look at the girl. "I didn't want to make it a big deal, Doreen. But I am glad you came."

"You freaking better be glad I came!" Doreen dusted her sleeves off and pointed down to her green jeans. "I put on my good pants for this!"

Go Go hit both of them in the shoulder, drawing their attention back to the group. She pointed over past the tables to the arcade machines, where the new young girl and Kyle were busying playing at one of them.

Or...at least one of them was. Keli had the plastic gun in her hand, shooting the zombies left and right. Kyle was too busy starting at her with stars in his eyes to run his score up.

"How does it feel to be someone's crush and then get dumped all in the span of thirty minutes?" Hal joked.

"Don't worry," Karmi smiled. "I'm used to it."

Doreen craned her head backward. "Yeah, you better be. Because your boy is here!"

She joined her coworker in looking behind her...and was greeted by four very wet people. The smallest one spoke up from underneath his hood.

"It's raining outside, by the way."

Karmi chuckled. "I got that. Hey."

"Hey."

Wasabi shook his hair, droplets cascading down. "We ran into a bit of bad weather on the way. Robbie hit an earlier storm when he was coming to the house, so he's a little more-"

"I don't think I'm ever going to be dry ever again."

The Latino stood still, basking in the everlasting dampness. It was then that he noticed the crowd staring at him. "Are..we interrupting something here?"

"Nah," John said, pointing to Guy. "Just the bruising of our friend's ego."

Aspen was staring at the newcomer, a look of realization coming over her face. He returned her bewildered expression as he started to take his jacket off. "Are...you OK?"

"You must be Robbie!"

"Um." He looked around nervously, not sure about whether he should answer the question. "Yeah, that would be me."

That confirmation was immediately followed up by a bear hug around his neck. Not expecting the sudden weight, Robbie almost keeled over on the spot.

"Whoa!"

"Down, girl," Go Go laughed. "He's been through enough."

"Sorry!" Aspen unhinged her arms from his body, stepping up to her full height. "He's a cutie patootie, just like you said!"

"I-No," she stammered under Robbie's evil smile. "I did _not_ say that."

The marine biologist turned back to Robbie. "I almost forgot! I have a special greeting just for you! I've been working on it for a while." She waved her hand clockwise, her smile not wavering. "Flameo, hotman!"

"What..." Robbie turned to the Korean. "What did she just call me?"

"Don't worry about it." Go Go grabbed his arm and steered him back toward the bar. "Let's get you dried off."

"I think this is where we'll take our leave." Honey Lemon handed the pool cue off to Guy, a large wad of cash replacing it. "Have a good rest of your night, guys."

The military boys waved as the group walked back over to the table. The last person spoke up as they hit the bar area. "Soooo, you can probably tell we picked up Squirrel Girl on the way over here."

"Who's Squirrel Girl?"

"That's me!" Doreen said from behind Karmi. "I have a nickname now!"

Go Go shook her head. "Fred, you can't just hand these things out willy-nilly. They're a commodity."

"But she needed one! We picked her up on the way over here and she kept us all entertained with stories about her and Karmi at the restaurant."

"Wait." Karmi turned to Doreen. "What exactly did you tell them?"

"Oh, not much." She waved her off with her hand. "Just this one time where you dropped a whole plate of food for a table and Chef Gramercy exploded at you. Oh, and that other time where you split your skirt so much that we could almost see your-"

Karmi put her face in her hands. "Doreen, ix-nay on the alking-tay."

"What? Your boy seemed _very_ interested in the whole escapade." Doreen stuck her thumb out at Hiro, who was suddenly very interested in reading the bar menu. "And you know I don't speak your funky little foreign language. But don't worry, Hiro! I got pictures for you! But first..." She cracked her knuckles and turned to face the bar. "I have to go say hello to my little Speedball."

The guys looked at each other. "Wait, who's that?" Wasabi asked.

She only grinned, cupping her mouth to shout at the guy behind the bar. "Speedy!"

The bartender looked up from his shaker, instantly recognizing the voice. "Hey there, girl!"

Doreen ran behind the counter up to the blonde, where they immediately started to make out with each other. The incredibly public display of passion was too much for the group. Go Go covered Hiro's eyes, almost on instinct. The rest of the group's looks ranged from shock to adoration.

Guess which person was adoration?

"That," Go Go said, pointing over to them, "is an impressive amount of tongue."

"I wonder who's going to come up for air first?" Aspen wondered.

"Who knows?" Robbie took off his jacket and slung it over a spare stool. "I'm going to go stand under the dryer in the bathroom for a bit to see if I can get any less wet. Be right back."

"Yeah, make room for us," Wasabi said as he followed him with Fred. "You coming, Hiro?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I'm already feeling better."

As the three walked off, Hiro looked at Aspen, who Karmi was just now noticing was staring very intently at his sweatshirt. A long, very thin tendril of water was coming out of his back as well as Robbie's discarded jacket, wrapping around her outstretched arm. "I...thought you weren't suppose to be using your powers?"

"I'm not. But who's going to notice?"

The sound of two girls clearing their throats answered her question.

"Oh yeah. My two moms, apparently."

"Aspen."

"OK, fine." She held up the orb of water to her face and threw it over her head. The ball landed perfectly in the sink behind the bar, jolting the two lip locked people out of their session. "I'm going to go freshen up. Go Go, Honey Lemon, come on. Let's let the two lovebirds have a minute."

The girls left, leaving Karmi and you know who left by themselves. She wasn't actually dreading being alone with him, but after everything that had happened, she wondered if there was anything else left to say.

"I _wasn't _interested."

Hiro took the stool next to her, a slight pink in his cheeks. "For the record. I wasn't even paying attention to that story. At all."

Karmi smirked at the boy. "Yeah. Sure."

The two sat for a moment, Karmi sipping the remainder of her soda.

"I can't believe you did this."

Hiro looked back at her. "Hm?"

"You managed to get everyone here."

"Didn't think I could do it?" he joked.

"No. I didn't think you would."

Karmi swirled the ice cubes in her glass as he stared at her. "I thought that I was going to spend my last night just sitting in my room, waiting for the hours to just pass by until I left with my parents for the airport. But you actually did it. You came and got me."

"Well, _Go Go _came and got you."

"Whatever."

She felt his hand grab hers on the table. "Karmi, I said I was going to do this. I kept my word. I wasn't going to let you down."

Karmi looked up at him, smiling. "Yeah, I should know by now you'd come through for me."

"Yeah, he's good like that."

Their heads snapped up to see the entirety of the group standing in front of them. Go Go had her hands on her hips, a bubble coming out of her mouth, and a slight grin on her face.

"We're your friends, Karmi," Honey Lemon said. "We weren't going to just let you leave without saying goodbye."

"Everyone deserves a night out," Aspen added. "Even you."

"Hey, I think you're pretty cool, too," Robbie jumped in. "And I've only known about you for what? Twenty minutes?"

"Robbie."

"What? I feel like I had to say something. I don't know what you girls come up with when you're canoodling in the bathroom."

"I assure you there was no _canoodling_." Go Go sat back down in her stool, throwing his jacket at him. "There's not enough room on the couch, anyway."

"Wait a second. You guys have _couches_?"

Wasabi shook his head. "Fred, I think they're joking."

"Guys!"

"Gah!" The two teen geniuses recoiled back at the sudden entry of Doreen, who decided to come up from underneath the table.

"I think we're missing a very important part of this here!" She pointed down at the table, where the two certain body parts remained interlocked. "They're holding hands! In public!"

Aspen appeared right next to her, equally as excited. "Oh my God, this is awesome! Is this the moment? Is this the moment where they reveal their undying love for each other?"

"You." Doreen pointed to Aspen, her smile widening. "I like you."

The blue-haired girl cradled her head in her hands and stared at the two, whose faces were now getting increasingly red. "Well, what are you two waiting for? You have an audience! Get to-Ow!"

Her head suddenly got yanked back at the same time Doreen suffered the same mysterious fate as her. Karmi looked to her right, and the force was mysterious no more.

"_Girls._"

Honey Lemon brought the two heads to her face, her eyes glaring daggers into her friends. "We are _here_ so that Karmi can have a good time before she leaves. We are not going to _ruin_ that by bothering her about her and Hiro. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"What she said."

Her demeanor went back to her usual cheerful self. "Good!" She let go of their ears and started walking over to the lanes. "Well, I'm ready to start bowling. Let's go get everything set up, Fred."

"Coming, HL!"

Wasabi watched as Aspen winced and rubbed her ear. "You brought this on yourself, you know."

She shrugged as she grabbed her glass of seltzer. "The night is still young, Mr. Wasabi. Plenty of personal lives to pry into. Like Mr. Hot Hands over here." She trailed off after Fred and winked at Robbie as she passed by.

He quickly glanced at Go Go. "I'm scared of her."

"As you should be." She grabbed his jacket and tossed it at him. "But you should at least thank her for getting your jacket dry."

"Oh wow, it _is_ dry." He ran his hand over one of the sleeves. "How'd she do that?"

"She's got the magic touch."

Doreen squealed as she walked off with the two behind them. "Oooh, I like magic touches!"

Wasabi was just about to join everyone else when he noticed that the two at the table hadn't moved. He turned his body to face them. "Hey, when you two are done being embarrassed, can you grab their drinks when you come over, Hiro? Thanks."

Karmi stole a glance at Hiro, who was still staring in the general direction of his friends. She also noticed that his hand was still holding hers. Dropping her voice, she leaned in to his ear.

"Hiro, you can let go now."

"Huh?" He hurriedly returned his hand back to his side. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm sorry, too."

"For what?" Hiro asked.

She grabbed her glass and got up off of the stool. "For the loss that I'm about to give you in bowling."

Hiro has the last two cups in his hands and practically ran off after her. "Oh no, you don't! It's on, Karmi!"

* * *

_A few hours later…_

A single person burst through the double doors to the parking lot outside, thrusting her pointer fingers in the air.

"Oh yeah! Girls rule and boys drool!"

"In our defense, you had five people and we had four."

"Too late, Wasabi!" Aspen high-fived Doreen. "You heard the lady!"

Karmi joined in the laughter as she followed the rest of the group outside. A few droplets were still falling from the sky, but it looked like the rainstorm that had caught the boys off guard has passed on. There were only a couple of clouds in the sky, the stars starting to peek through.

"You guys had Speedy for one frame!"

Wasabi sighed. "No, Doreen had him in her arms while they were making out again. That doesn't count!"

So yeah. You can probably guess who won.

"It was an epic battle of the ages, ladies! We'll have to do it again sometime!"

"Oh, we will, Fred," Aspen chuckled. "We definitely will."

Karmi started sneaking off as the rest of the group fell into conversation. Half of her wanted to stay and wish the night would go on forever. The other half just wanted to get out of there before her mind could start processing the fact that the night was ending. Either way, she found herself at Go Go's bike, patiently waiting for the Korean to come over so that she could take her home.

"Thought you could get away, huh?"

Apparently, someone else had the same idea as her.

"I could drive it, but the only experience I have are those bikes you ride in front of the grocery store for a quarter. Aunt Cass would put me on there to expend some energy before going shopping." Hiro had his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. "Didn't really work that well."

Karmi had her hand on the spare helmet, her emotions already starting to spill over. Hiro looked at her, concerned. "Karmi?"

"This is really it, isn't it?"

Hiro said nothing as her hands began to shake. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm not going to see you guys again."

"Karmi, we already talked about this, remember? We'll figure something out. We always do." Hiro stepped a little closer. "And we have the Medi-Dex, too. I heard that Granville might be able to reschedule our clinical trial until you get back. So...we can still work on that."

She looked down at the concrete, her eyes welling up. "There's other girls, you know."

"Hmm?"

"I...mean..." Karmi sniffed loudly. "There's other people you can work with. Smarter people. All of your friends. People at school. Heck, even Doreen has some experience in mechanics."

"Yeah, mascot costumes can't climb on trees by themselves, you know."

Karmi looked up to see the rest of the group had come over, hanging behind Hiro. Robbie had his arm lazily hanging on Go Go's shoulder, Honey Lemon and Fred had an excited Doreen standing in front of them, and Aspen was gripping Wasabi's shirt so tightly in anticipation of...something.

And in front of all of them was the boy genius. The pain in the butt that had somehow weaseled his way into her life.

"Yeah. Yeah, I could. I could work with any of them on this. They're smart. They're capable. But there's one thing that they're not."

To the surprise of literally everyone, Hiro gingerly grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"They're not you."

Karmi stared at him, stunned by the raw display of emotion. The other were equally shocked, wide eyes and open mouths going all around.

"Hiro..."

She suddenly threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close, the cascade of tears falling down her face. She felt his arms go around her waist, the two now locked together in the tightest hug they've ever had.

Doreen and Aspen were the first to come forward, their arms cascading around the two. The rest followed suit, a giant bear hug now ensuing.

"You know, I'm not really a hug person," Robbie muttered. "I'm just gonna-Ah!"

A gloved hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar, bringing him into the pile.

"You are now, Robbie."

"Yeah." He rubbed the top of Karmi's head. "I figured as much."

Karmi snuggled her face into Hiro's neck. "I don't deserve you guys. You can say whatever you want, but I really don't."

"That's exactly what I said after everything at Fathom, Karmi. And you're wrong. You absolutely do," Aspen affirmed. "Don't you ever forget that."

The group backed off except for Go Go, who put a hand on Hiro's shoulder. "Hiro, I have to take her home now."

Hiro pulled her even closer, not relenting.

"Hiro." Her voice dropped to a whisper, shaking ever so slightly. "You have to let her go."

The tips of Karmi's fingers dug into his neck a little more.

"I have a crowbar in my bike seat. I _will_ separate the two of you if I have to."

Under the threat of physical separation, the two pulled apart. Karmi started to grab the spare helmet off of Go Go's bike, but stopped. She had an idea bubbling in her head. "Can I...get a group picture with you guys? Just so...that I have something from tonight?"

"Of course you can!" Honey Lemon pulled out her phone. "Everyone bunch up!"

"Hold on, I have to get myself ready." Robbie slicked his hair back. "There. How do I look?"

"...Like someone who was on a team that got beat in bowling by a bunch of girls."

"Low blow, Squirrel Girl. Low blow."

"Hey! I even have the new guy calling me that. Win-win!"

The group crowded together, Hiro and Karmi at the front. The Latina had to back up a fair amount to get everyone in the picture. "Honey Lemon, you have to get in here too."

"I'm fine, Fred," she replied, fiddling with her screen. "I'll be in it in spirit."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?"

The voice from behind her caused Honey Lemon to turn on the spot. The brown-haired military guy from before was there, a smile on his face.

"Hal."

"Here." He curled his hand toward him, gesturing to her phone. "You deserve to be in there with your friends. I think I can handle a couple of pictures."

She handed off the camera and skipped over to Fred on the end, putting her arm around his back. Hal brought the camera up to his face, content with everyone's position. "All right, everyone! Say 'cheese'!"

* * *

Honey Lemon scrolled through her photo album in front of the bowling alley. The rest of the group besides her and Doreen had left to go back to Go Go's apartment. Doreen, not content with the level of making out from earlier, had retreated back into the bowling alley to find her boyfriend. The rain had started to pick up again, causing her to retreat under the awning of the alley. Seeing they were one seat short, Fred had offered to be confined to the trunk, but Honey Lemon declined. She didn't mind, really. She didn't want to get anyone in trouble, anyway.

She smiled as she looked over the group picture. Everyone was together, Karmi's smile shining brighter than everyone else's. Doreen had succeeded in giving Aspen bunny ears without her noticing, something that she could appreciate.

"I hope my picture-taking skills were to your liking."

Honey Lemon looked to her left at the newcomer. "There were very good. Thank you."

"No problem." Hal put his hands in his jacket, the beret still on his head. "I was worried that my thumb had gotten in the way or something."

The two stared up at the sky, letting the rain wash away the conversation for a little bit.

"It's rough, isn't it?"

She glanced over at him, his eyes still looking up.

"I...caught a little of the conversation you guys had. Not knowing when your friends are coming back...or even _if_ they're coming back. I've had to deal with that a lot, being military and all. It can be frustrating. But it's good that she has a group of people that care about her well-being."

"Yeah," Honey Lemon said. "It took a while to get there, and some bumps along the way, but we got there."

The two fell silent again for a bit, the rain coming down a little harder now.

"What's it like? Being in the military?"

"Rewarding, but rough. Enlisted straight out of high school five years ago, and never looked back. Felt like it was my calling. But certain people...didn't like my decision."

Hal brought out his phone and opened it up. Honey Lemon looked at the picture he showed her. It was him and a woman, seemingly on a beach. Her jet black hair and purple swimsuit shined in the sun above them.

"She's beautiful."

"Yeah." Hal stared at the photo sadly. "Carol wasn't really a big fan of me enlisting. She wanted to get married, but it didn't work out."

"So you keep an old picture of her in your phone for the sake of it?"

He put his cell away, the hand back in his pocket. "As a reminder of what I fight for."

"Does she know that?"

Him not answering was all she needed to know. "You should talk to her, Hal. Let her know how you feel."

"That sounds like a terrible idea to do this late at night."

A car pulled up in front of the building, the red Driver sticker visible in the windshield.

"It might be a bad idea...but it's the right one." Honey Lemon gave him a quick one-armed hug. "I'm sure she'd like to hear from you. And if you're ever in the area again, don't be a stranger. Have a good night."

Hal waved her goodbye as she got in, the car driving off into the night. "Yeah...maybe she would."

His phone started to vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out to answer. "Hello?"

The person on the other end was quick and precise, because Hal nodded only after a short moment. "OK. We're on our way." He hung up and made a motion to walk back into the alley, but his companions were already on their way out, the two young teens in tow.

"I assume you guys got the call, too."

"Yeah," the redhead answered. "Had to get the two lovebirds first."

Hal laughed. "I was wondering where the two of you went off to. Did you enjoy each other's company?"

Kyle and Keli looked away, their disheveled clothing and messed up hair speaking for themselves.

"Well, this has been an interesting evening, but we have to head out. Ship leaves at 0800 hours. And I don't think the boss man would enjoy us being late."

"I have to take Keli home first," John said, steering the young girl toward the parking lot. "I'll see the two of you at the base."

Keli turned back as she continued to walk, mimicking a phone with her hand and mouthing "Call me" to Kyle, whose cheeks went even redder.

"You know," Guy said, leaning into Hal. "We could just stay here. It's a nice city. Good people. We wouldn't have to worry about traveling. We can protect them."

Hal thought long and hard about that. It was an interesting thought coming from Guy, and a tempting one at that. But the thought of his companion from moments ago brought him to his conclusion.

"No. We're needed elsewhere. That's what we do. And besides..."

He looked down at his phone one last time, the group picture of Karmi, Honey Lemon, and their friends lighting up the dark of the night.

"I think this city already has its protectors."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hey, if you made it to the end of this, congrats! I know it's a lot, and there's so much stuff happening here, but I guess I'll start with the obvious.

You can make a Hot Toddy non-alcoholic by just replacing the—No, I'm joking.

Long, long ago, back when the _Fathom_ comic was owned by Top Cow Publications in the early 2000s, they _also_ had the comic rights to Witchblade and Tomb Raider, and they did a short crossover series with each other. Most of you will probably know Lara Croft, but Sara Pezzini might be a little too old for the average person. Long story short: she's got a demonic wristband and it causes problems. There, explanation done. But do go read both, if you can get a hold of them. Either way, I thought it be a nice little callback to bring those two into the fold.

Will they reappear again? Mayyyybe.

Also the Green Berets? Yeah, they are who you think they are. Had to de-age one of them a little bit to fit, but I think it worked out.

And Speedy? Not DC Speedy. It's Marvel Speedy. Go look him up, too.

This is, by far, the longest one shot I've ever done. And I even had to cut some stuff out for it to not drag on too long, but I guess 10k+ words is still pretty long.

Also, it's really hard to keep everyone straight when you have nine characters together at one time. Tried to spread out the spotlight a little bit, but certain people (Aspen, Doreen) tend to steal it a lot.

Next week will be the start of the next multi-chaptered story. And unlike Aspen, who's fairly unknown, the character being introduced in that story will be instantly recognizable by a lot of people. You will not want to miss it.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.


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